To truly appreciate the Florida Keys, you have to taste and savor its storied past. Long hidden behind the Conch Republic’s laid-back lifestyle and waterside adventures, the region’s food and beverage scene is now getting its long-deserved spotlight. Here, three of the area’s culinary innovators share what it’s like to source from the region’s abundant waterways to master the art of casual dining.

Paul Menta, Chef and Owner of Key West First Legal Rum Distillery

Daredevil chef and rum distiller Paul Menta became a vocal supporter of the Keys’ gastronomy when he arrived here three decades ago.

When he opened Key West First Legal Rum Distillery, Menta applied his culinary acumen to crafting each batch of rum because, as he puts it, “food and beverage collide heavily down here.” The same way he turned to the ocean to source his food ingredients, Menta emulated the process with his distillery, known for its small-batch, all-natural production. 

While traditional rum-making includes filling barrels with fresh water, Menta fills his own with salt water scooped straight from the ocean. He brings the barrels back to the distillery where he empties them and lets them dry, which, after around five days, leaves a layer of salt brine on the inside.

The result is a rum selection that evokes the essence of the Keys, including a tropical line of green coconut and glazed pineapple flavors and silver rum that prefers a Florida Demerara sugar instead of molasses. 

“I make the best rum in Key West because it’s a flavor of Key West,” Menta says. “And there’s a pride that comes out of it.”

Jeremy Ford, Chef and Partner of Salt + Ash

After receiving a Michelin star in 2022 for his Miami Beach restaurant, Stubborn Seed, Jeremy Ford was ready for a new challenge. His next feat? Opening elevated farm-to-table, fresh-from-the-sea restaurant Salt + Ash.

Strategically situated inside Hawks Cay Resort, a 60-acre tropical retreat in the Middle Keys, Salt + Ash brings Ford’s passion for foraging and farming to a stunning seaside locale. Much of the restaurant’s ingredients are harvested from his own farm in the Redlands, located an hour and a half north of Salt + Ash, and local fishermen bring in just-caught seafood like swordfish and snapper. 

“It’s special here,” Ford says of the Keys. “And we get to serve fresh fish with tomatoes that we grew with our bare hands. It doesn’t get any better.”

Rachel Bowman, Lionfish Huntress

When Rachel Bowman dives into the ocean, she enters the aquatic terrain for one purpose: to hunt lionfish. The first confirmed sighting of this invasive species in the Florida Keys was in 2009. The rapidly rising lionfish population has threatened local wildlife and coral reefs, changing the area’s pristine natural ecosystem ever since. 

Armed with her spear, Bowman’s hunts have turned this invasive species into a food source. High in omega-3 fatty acids, lionfish have a delicate flavor that Bowman describes as mild, slightly sweet and similar to hogfish. She enjoys it baked with bell peppers, sliced onions and a dash of salt and pepper.

Her hauls are sold at Whole Foods Markets and at local establishments like Chef Michael’s in Islamorada, making Bowman not only a hunter but also a provider. 

For more culinary inspiration, visit fla-keys.com.

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